Samsung Electronics said that it is exploring alternatives by which artists could have their work displayed electronically in homes and executive offices. The company has partnered to develop two prototype displays, utilizing SAMSUNG SM’ART Gallery Panels, to encourage further market discussions and to demonstrate the concept to potential artist collaborators.

“The SAMSUNG SM’ART Gallery Panels will enable art buyers to transform a room of virtually any size into an easy-to-customize electronic gallery with any number of art pieces,” said Scott Birnbaum, vice president of new business development for Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Conveying new or well-recognized art electronically through framed LCD art screens in millions of locations is not only feasible, but highly practical, Birnbaum said. These new digital canvases would be initially targeted to fine art connoisseurs, both institutional and individual collectors.

Through a cloud-based art selection, buyers could customize and refine their personalized art collection to cater to their individual tastes and aspect ratio requirements. Buyers could initially view the works of art through a handheld device for quicker browsing. Moreover, the system could also enable digital and video artists to expand their audience. In addition to providing classic fine art, Samsung Electronics said that the electronic gallery holds the promise of bringing virtually unknown artists to the attention of potential art collectors – talented artists that might otherwise have difficulty getting “noticed.”

The company is working with Planar Systems, a leader in specialty displays for digital signage and other demanding applications, and their high-end home theater brand, Runco, to demonstrate the SAMSUNG SM’ART Gallery Panel concept. These high-quality displays could be used in home or commercial applications to electronically change a piece of art to better suit the mood of special events, important occasions or guests, at the owner’s discretion. The aspect ratio and orientation of the display can vary – from portrait to landscape. For the prototypes, two sizes were developed: 21.9” wide x 33.9” tall offering a 1:1.5 aspect ratio (portrait), and 48” wide by 27” tall offering a 16:9 aspect ratio (landscape).

”The possibilities for high-resolution LCD art displays are endless, providing an unrivaled medium for artistic appreciation,” said Jennifer Davis, vice president, marketing, Planar. She added that, “Planar and Samsung Electronics share a vision of a new era in art distribution that could eventually give every collector a chance to display beautiful and changing fine art on a digital canvas designed expressly for this purpose. Our technology demonstration illustrates principles that will make our offering the artist’s choice for digital canvases.”

Samsung Electronics said the concept of electronic art has been tried before as an add-on feature to high-end TV sets, but inadequate art selection and displays primarily designed for television programming limited its appeal. The focus of this partnership with Planar develops a technology platform that puts the art first, providing the best possible showcase for licensed fine art.

Referring to the new display concept as a SAMSUNG SM’ART electronic gallery, Birnbaum said the digital approach could expand the creative boundaries of artistic expression on a grand scale. A SAMSUNG SM’ART electronic gallery – in addition to transmitting art as originally created in static form – could spark considerable interest in art that moves, that changes based on the viewer’s mood or the time of day, and interactive art that reacts to movement.

Birnbaum asked interested art organizations to contact him at SMART@ssi.samsung.com to discuss participation in setting up the SAMSUNG SM’ART electronic galleries.